Nearly 12,500 Texans are owed back wages. Here’s how to check if you’re one of them.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor collected more than $212 million in back wages owed to 163,000 people, but the agency is still looking for many of those cheated by their employers.

Now, a recently improved searchable database could help reunite workers with that unpaid overtime.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division sends out checks to the last known address of employees owed back wages, but many bounce back because of a move or other circumstances, according to agency officials. The average check totals around $1,100.

While the numbers change daily, a Jan. 25 snapshot of unclaimed wages from the Labor Department shows that Texas businesses owed a total of $8.2 million to nearly 12,500 former employees. Nationwide, employers owe some $100 million in back wages, according to the data. The money was paid to the Labor Department for disbursement after investigations into each business.

“Name changes or an employer’s failure to retain contact information can also make it difficult for us to find employees and put back wages recovered into their hands,” according to a Labor Department statement.

The department is now trying to get the word out that workers stiffed by an employer can use an online search tool called Workers Owed Wages, or WOW, to track down the money they’re owed.

The clock is ticking to find the owed money because after three years, any unclaimed wages are turned over to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The Labor Department has collected more than $384,000 in back wages for 561 former employees of Bexar County businesses, according to data provided by department officials.

The most prevalent offenders in Bexar County are home health care companies and restaurants, according to Labor Department officials.

Forty former employees of medical transportation company Rapid Care haven’t collected on $113,557 held for them by the federal government, according to the department, and five former Dairy Queen employees have checks worth a total of $18,912 waiting for them. Those funds are now being disbursed by the Labor Department.

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This article appears in Jan 24 – Feb 6, 2024.